Simon Sebag Montefiore was born in London. His father was psychotherapist Stephen Eric Sebag Montefiore (1926?2014), a great-grandson of the banker
Sir Joseph Sebag-Montefiore
, the nephew and heir of the wealthy philanthropist
Sir Moses Montefiore
.
[3]
Simon's mother was Phyllis April Jaffe (1927?2019) from the
Lithuanian
branch of the
Jaffe family
. Her parents fled the
Russian Empire
at the beginning of the 20th century. They bought tickets for New York City, but were cheated, being instead dropped off at
Cork
, Ireland. In 1904, due to the
Limerick pogrom
, her father, Henry Jaffe, left the country and moved to
Newcastle upon Tyne
, England.
[4]
Simon's brother is
Hugh Sebag-Montefiore
.
Montefiore was educated at
Ludgrove School
and at
Harrow School
, where he was editor of the school newspaper,
The Harrovian
. At the age of 17, he worked down South African gold mines, saying in 2023 "These were the last years of apartheid. I wanted to see its collapse first-hand."
[5]
In the autumn of 1983 he interviewed UK prime minister
Margaret Thatcher
for
The Harrovian
.
[6]
[7]
He won an
Exhibition
to read history at
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
[8]
where he received his Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD).
[9]
Films and TV drama series
edit
Several of Montefiore's books are now being developed as either films or TV drama series. In February 2017,
Angelina Jolie
announced that she was developing "Simon Sebag Montefiore's
Catherine the Great and Potemkin
" with
Universal Studios
.
[26]
Also in early 2017, the film studio
Lionsgate Films
announced it had bought Montefiore's
Jerusalem: the Biography
to make it into a long running multi episodic TV drama series which will be "character-driven, action-filled account of war, betrayal, faith, fanaticism, slaughter, persecution and co-existence in the universal holy city through the ages."
[27]
Montefiore has likened it to
Game of Thrones
.
[28]
The film scriptwriter and director
Neil Jordan
has been attached to the project to adapt the book for television, and he will also be acting as producer.
[29]
In April 2016,
21st Century Fox
announced that its animated division
Blue Sky Studios
, makers of the Ice Age series, had bought "Royal Rabbits of London", the children's series of books written by Montefiore and Santa Montefiore, to develop into an animated feature film.
[30]
In July 2018 it was announced that the screenwriter
Will Davies
has been attached to the project to adapt the book for the screen.
[31]
Also in July 2018, it was announced that
Hat Trick Productions
had taken up an option on Montefiore's novel
One Night in Winter
, in order to make a TV adaptation.
[32]
The book received a number favourable reviews including ones by
Olga Grushin
,
[33]
Antony Beevor
[34]
and
Stephen Kotkin
. According to Kotkin, "No author on Russia writes better than Montefiore whose perceptiveness and portraiture here are frequently sublime?... a marvellous read and the last third from
fin de siecle
insanity to revolutionary cataclysm is dazzling."
[35]
Swedish historian
Dick Harrison
criticized the book for inaccuracies.
[36]
The World: a Family History of Humanity
edit
In 2022 Montefiore produced a world history:
The World: a Family History of Humanity
. It received positive reviews.
The Economist
said: “Don't be put off by the doorstopper length: this is a riveting page-turner. The author brings his cast of dynastic titans, rogues and psychopaths to life with pithy, witty pen portraits, ladling on the sex and violence. An epic that both entertains and informs.”
[37]
The New Yorker
noted that the book was “A monumental survey of dynastic rule: how to get it, how to keep it, how to squander it . . . Montefiore energetically fulfills his promise to write a 'genuine world history, not unbalanced by excessive focus on Britain and Europe.' In zesty sentences and lively vignettes, he captures the widening global circuits of people, commerce, and culture.”
[38]
For
The Times
, Gerard DeGroot summed up the book as: "A history of the world from the Neanderthals to Trump. It's a rollicking tale, a kaleidoscope of savagery, sex, cruelty and chaos. By focusing on family, Montefiore provides an intimacy usually lacking in global histories. [It] has personality and a soul. It's also outrageously funny . . . an enormously entertaining book."
[39]
Montefiore's debut novel
King's Parade
was published in 1991.
The Spectator
called the book "embarrassing" and "extremely silly".
[40]
Montefiore has written a Moscow Trilogy of fictional thrillers, set in
Russia
. These have received positive reviews.
Sashenka
(2008) was described by
The Washington Post
as "Spellbinding.
Sashenka
is a historical whodunit with the epic sweep of a Hollywood movie. Montefiore is a natural storyteller who brings his encyclopedic knowledge of Russian history to life in language that glitters like the ice of St Petersburg".
[41]
The
Wall Street Journal
praised "This superb novel.
Sashenka
is unforgettable. Inspiring. Montefiore proves a matchless storyteller, his prose harrowing and precise."
[42]
One Night in Winter
(2013) was described by
The Guardian
as "A gripping thriller about private life and poetic dreams in Stalin's Russia?... A gripping pageturner?... Whether its subject is power or love, a darkly enjoyable read."
[43]
The last novel in the trilogy,
Red Sky at Noon
(2017), was called "a deeply satisfying pageturner ? mythic and murderous" by
The Times
[44]
and "brilliant on multiple levels?... offering historical accuracy, a fine empathy for his characters and a story that illuminates the operatic tragedy of Stalin's Russia" by
Booklist
.
[45]
- Non-fiction
- Fiction
- King's Parade
(1991)
[46]
- My Affair with Stalin
(1997)
[47]
- Sashenka
(2008)
- One Night in Winter
(2013)
- Red Sky at Noon
(2017)
- Children's books (with Santa Montefiore)
- Royal Rabbits of London
(2016)
- Royal Rabbits of London: Escape from the Tower
(2017)
- Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
, 3 part series, 8 December 2011 ? 23 December 2011
[48]
- Rome: A History of the Eternal City
, 3 part series, 5?19 December 2012
[49]
- Byzantium: A Tale of Three Cities
, 3 part series, 5 December 2013 ? 19 December 2013
[50]
- Blood and Gold: The Making of Spain
, 3 part series, 8 December 2015 ? 22 December 2015
[51]
- Vienna: Empire, Dynasty And Dream
, 3 part series, 8 December 2016 ? 22 December 2016
[52]
- Speeches that Changed The World
- Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City, BBC, 2011
[53]
- Byzantium and the History of Faith
- ^
Jonathen Rosen (28 October 2011).
"Caliphs, Crusaders, and the Bloody History of Jerusalem"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
24 January
2016
.
- ^
Ward, Vicky
(22 January 2008).
"History in the Making"
.
Vanity Fair
. Retrieved
4 May
2009
.
- ^
Obituary, BJPsych Bulletin, Royal College of Psychiatrists,
"Stephen Sebag-Montefiore Doctor and psychotherapist"
- ^
David Shasha (15 June 2010).
"Moses Montefiore: The Most Important Jew of the 19th Century"
.
Huffington Post
. Retrieved
27 January
2016
.
- ^
a
b
Simon Sebag Montefiore (8 July 2023).
"I worked down a South African goldmine at 17"
.
The Guardian
(Interview). Interviewed by Michael Segalov.
- ^
Simon Sebag-Montefiore (22 October 1983).
"An Interview with the Prime Minister"
.
The Harrovian
? via Aspects of History.
- ^
Gold, Tanya (27 October 2022).
"The man who wrote The World: Tanya Gold meets Simon Sebag Montefiore"
.
The Jewish Chronicle
. Retrieved
27 October
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"Simon Sebag Montefiore"
.
BBC News
.
Newsnight Review
. 18 July 2008
. Retrieved
4 May
2009
.
- ^
"About the author"
.
Web site of Simon Sebag Montefiore
. Retrieved
8 July
2023
.
- ^
"Catherine the Great & Potemkin by Simon Sebag Montefiore"
. Archived from
the original
on 23 April 2020
. Retrieved
8 July
2023
.
- ^
Galaxy British Book Awards:
History Book of the Year 2004
- ^
"2007 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes Awarded"
.
Los Angeles Times
. 25 April 2008
. Retrieved
4 May
2009
.
- ^
Anderson, Hephzibah (2 January 2008).
"A.L. Kennedy's 'Day', Montefiore's 'Young Stalin' Win Costas"
.
Bloomberg L.P.
Retrieved
4 May
2009
.
- ^
"Simon Sebag Montefiore ? The Author"
. Orion Books. 2008. Archived from
the original
on 30 July 2014
. Retrieved
4 May
2009
.
- ^
Flood, Alison (26 August 2008).
"Biographer celebrates 'fairy gold' prize win"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
4 May
2009
.
- ^
"NJBA Winners"
. Archived from
the original
on 27 January 2016
. Retrieved
25 January
2016
.
- ^
"Past Winners"
.
Jewish Book Council
. Retrieved
20 January
2020
.
- ^
"Simon Sebag Montefiore wins the the[sic] 10th Wenjin Book Prize"
.
georginacapel.com
. Retrieved
1 August
2023
.
- ^
Thrift, Sarah (19 March 2014).
"Political Book Awards winners announced"
.
Politicos
. Archived from
the original
on 29 June 2017
. Retrieved
25 January
2016
.
- ^
"The Orwell Prize long list"
. Archived from
the original
on 11 March 2016
. Retrieved
25 January
2016
.
- ^
"Among friends: Inside the new King and Queen Consort's inner circle"
.
Tatler
. 15 September 2022
. Retrieved
15 October
2022
.
- ^
"Inaya Folarin Iman and Simon Sebag Montefiore appointed as Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery"
.
GOV.UK
. Retrieved
1 August
2023
.
- ^
Rocker, Simon (6 July 2023).
"Archbishop of Canterbury says antisemitism is the 'root of all racism'
"
.
The Jewish Chronicle
. Retrieved
1 September
2023
.
- ^
Moloney, Charlie; Burgess, Kaya (7 July 2023).
"Archbishop of Canterbury: Cut university funding if students insulted"
.
The Times
. Retrieved
1 September
2023
.
- ^
Latika Bourke, "Keeping our history in the family",
The Age
. 10 December 2022, Insight, p. 34
- ^
Hollywood Reporter
, 22 February 2017.
- ^
Hollywood Reporter
, 5 March 2017.
- ^
Evening Standard
, 15 June 2017.
- ^
"Jordan attached to screenwriter Montefiore's Jerusalem"
.
The Bookseller
. 5 March 2018
. Retrieved
8 July
2023
.
- ^
Variety
, 18 April 2016.
- ^
McNary, Dave (31 July 2018).
"Fox Taps Will Davies to Write 'Royal Rabbits of London' Movie"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
8 July
2023
.
- ^
White, Peter (23 July 2018).
"Stalin's Russia Set For TV As 'Episodes' Producer Hat Trick Options Simon Sebag Montefiore's Novel 'One Night in Winter'
"
.
Deadline
. Retrieved
8 July
2023
.
- ^
Grushin, Olga (16 May 2016).
"
'The Romanovs: 1613-1918,' by Simon Sebag Montefiore"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
1 September
2023
.
- ^
Financial Times
, 15 January 2016.
- ^
Kotkin, Stephen (20 May 2016).
"Dwarf-Throwing and Other Delights"
.
The Wall Street Journal
. Retrieved
1 September
2023
.
- ^
Harrison, Dick
(11 June 2017).
"Recension:
Den sista tsardynastin: Romanov 1613?1918
Groteska sakfel om tsardynastin"
[Review:
The last tsarist dynasty: Romanov 1613?1918
- Grotesque factual errors about the tsarist dynasty].
Svenska Dagbladet
(in Swedish).
- ^
"The best recent history books"
.
The Economist
.
ISSN
0013-0613
. Retrieved
1 August
2023
.
- ^
Jasanoff, Maya (22 May 2023).
"The History of Nepo Babies Is the History of Humanity"
.
The New Yorker
.
ISSN
0028-792X
. Retrieved
1 August
2023
.
- ^
DeGroot, Gerard (31 July 2023).
"The World by Simon Sebag Montefiore review ? history told through great and infamous families"
.
The Times
.
ISSN
0140-0460
. Retrieved
1 August
2023
.
- ^
Moore, Caroline (17 May 1991).
"Made young with young desires"
.
The Spectator
.
- ^
Watrous, Malena (11 January 2009).
"Young Revolutionary"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
1 September
2023
.
- ^
Weber, Caroline (5 December 2008).
"Stalin's Servant -- and Victim"
.
The Wall Street Journal
. Retrieved
1 September
2023
.
- ^
The Guardian
, 21 September 2013.
- ^
The Times
, 3 June 2017.
- ^
Booklist
, 1 November 2017.
- ^
"Made young with young desires?≫ 18 May 1991?≫ The Spectator Archive"
.
The Spectator Archive
. Retrieved
8 July
2023
.
- ^
"My Affair With Stalin"
.
Goodreads
.
- ^
"Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City ? BBC Four"
.
BBC
.
- ^
"Rome: A History of the Eternal City ? BBC Four"
.
BBC
.
- ^
"Byzantium: A Tale of Three Cities ? BBC Four"
.
BBC
.
- ^
"Blood and Gold: The Making of Spain with Simon Sebag Montefiore ? BBC Four"
.
BBC
.
- ^
"Vienna: Empire, Dynasty and Dream ? BBC Four"
.
BBC
.
- ^
"BBC ? Jerusalem ? The Making of A Holy City ? Media Centre"
.
www.bbc.co.uk
.